Jan. 12, 1967: It's Cold in Here

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Jan. 12, 1967: It's Cold in Here

1967: If Dr. James Bedford does turn up again someday, don't be surprised if he looks a little green around the gills. Bedford, who died on Jan. 12, 1967 at the age of 73, was the first person to be cryonically preserved with the intent of future resuscitation.

Cryonics offers the promise of an extended life span, if not eternal life, by preserving the body until medicine comes up with a way of reversing the effects of whatever killed the person in the first place. Needless to say, the theory is greeted with skepticism in the medical fraternity, but the prospect of resuscitation followed by a few extra centuries of sentience has led hundreds of people to take the plunge.

The most famous guinea pig is probably Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams, who has been cooling his heels (and everything else) at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona since checking out in 2002.

Successfully resuscitating life rests on a number of unproven theories, including the notion that the brain is capable of retaining the personal identity after death. The general consensus is that it can't, which would make resuscitation something of a moot point. Then there is the philosophical question of why, after a hundred years or so, would anyone want to revive you anyway?